Save Tonight
by queequeg0927
Summary: Davis is about to leave for OCS. The guys are giving her the cold shoulder and she and Sonny have still not made up. Will they get back on track before it's too late? **Mostly Savis** Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I just like to play with them. Thanks to Jabr3317 for the title suggestion.
1. Chapter 1

The flight back home was unusually somber. As soon as the job was done everyone went directly to their own little places on the C-17 and hadn't moved since take off. The guys were huddled in one corner stretched out in their hammocks while the rest of the team was scattered throughout, no one really speaking the whole flight. Normally after a successful mission the team would cut loose a little and have a few drinks to wind down on the way home, but no one was in the mood to celebrate, or get home too quickly. The team knew that once they got home they would be losing one of their own.

This would be last mission with Bravo Team for Lisa Davis. Tomorrow the team's logistics specialist would be leaving for the twelve-week Officer Candidate School in Rhode Island. After graduation and accepting her commission she could end up anywhere the Navy wanted to send her. This wouldn't just be the last night the team got to spend all together, it could be the last time the guys saw Davis for a very long time.

Davis had certainly taken her time in telling the rest of the team that she was leaving. She'd only just told them a few days prior to this spin up, knowing that this would be the last one. It wasn't just because she knew the guys may give her a hard time about being a cake-eater, it was about thinking that she was letting the team down by breaking it up. She knew that deep down she would have their support, she always had, but it still felt like she was betraying them.

The plane landed around 1900 local time, and, just like the trip home, everyone took off in their own direction. Davis couldn't help but feel a hurt by the obvious disinterest the guys had knowing that this would be her last night as part of Bravo. She expected at least a goodbye from them; instead it was a few head nods and a 'see ya later'. "Maybe they really are mad at me," Davis thought to herself as she finished unloading her gear. There wasn't anything she could about it now; she had to be on the road in eleven hours for OCS. If this is how it was going to be, then so be it. Once the equipment was squared away and Davis felt somewhat comfortable enough to leave her job, and her team, in the hands of another person, she gathered her few personal belongings and headed home.

It was short drive to Davis' apartment from base, but she made a few stops for take-out and beer on the way, finally getting in about 2100. She fumbled with her keys, trying not to drop anything in the hallway, and barely managed to find the keyhole, unlock the door and kick it open in one swift, balancing motion.

"SURPRISE!" The lights came on and a collection of recognizable voices rang out through the apartment.

They were all there; the whole team, spouses and the kids. The initial shock wore off quickly as Davis realized what was happening. They weren't mad after all, just making her believe that they were. She scanned the room, looking at each one of their smiling faces, taking it all in. This was her family. She knew that there were still some mixed feelings about her leaving the team, but everyone was there in support of choice to go to OCS. Davis could feel small tears building up in her eyes as she thought about the team and how much they meant to her and her to them.

"Thank you, guys, so much for this," Davis said as she approached Naima and Ray, while making her rounds through the guests.

"You're welcome, but it wasn't us," Naima replied, motioning her head towards the other side of the room. "This was Sonny's idea," she said with a grin.

Davis looked back to see Sonny standing in the far corner of the living room, nursing a beer. "Sonny planned a party?"

Ray nodded, "Food… booze… these sad looking balloons all over your floor. It was all him. He even had this whole tactical plan to break into your apartment undetected. Then I told him that Naima had a spare key."

Davis smiled at the thought of Sonny's 'tactical plan', "Well, thanks for not letting him break in, then. Excuse me."

Davis needed a moment to think. She couldn't help but wonder why Sonny would do something like this for her, especially now. They hadn't really spoken much the last few weeks, since Sonny found out about OCS the hard way. They were civil around each other at work, keeping up appearances, but their friendship had taken a hard hit. After Sonny nearly died in North Korea, she thought things were getting back to normal, but he just distanced himself again. Hopefully she'd be able to talk to him tonight, before it was too late.

The next few hours were spent reminiscing and retelling old stories, anything and everything to humiliate Davis and keep her laughing. She needed this, they all did, something to take their minds off of tomorrow. As midnight rolled around it was time to start saying their goodbyes. The array of hugs and well wishes was almost too much to take in at once, but Davis worked her way through the group, one-by-one, as she watched them leave the apartment.

"You coming to the bar, Sonny?" Clay asked, stepping into the hallway.

Sonny looked over at Davis, then back to Clay, "Maybe later. Gonna stick around and clean up some of my mess." Double entendre intended.

Davis closed the door behind Clay and turned back to face Sonny, "You don't have to stay..."

"I want to."

Davis crossed the room, passing Sonny, and walked into the kitchen. She returned to where he was standing and pressed a plastic trash bag against Sonny's chest, smiling up at him, "Good. Start cleaning."

He smiled back her, reached up to grab the bag, making sure to brush the back of Davis' hand with his fingers as he did, "Yes, ma'am."

TBC.


	2. Chapter 2

Sonny and Davis worked in silence for a short time straightening up the apartment and sharing an occasional glance at each other, neither wanting to be the first to mention the elephant in the room; The conversation that they'd been dodging for weeks. Since that day in the locker room, Davis hadn't tried to bring it up again for fear of pushing him further away. She knew that this was the last chance she'd have to talk to him and now that they were alone, hopefully she would get that chance.

And Sonny, even though he instantly regretted walking out on her the way he did, thought that keeping his distance was for the best. He knew that OCS was the right career move for Davis and any relationship with him could ruin that for her, so he stayed away. Until now. Now her leaving was a hard-hitting reality and the thought of her going without knowing what she meant to him, to the team, was something he couldn't live with, so he'd spent the last couple of weeks secretly getting everyone on board with this party. He'd managed to pull it off, and Davis seemed genuinely happy about the whole thing, but he still needed to talk to her, so he stayed behind waiting for the opportunity.

Davis scanned the room, looking for another distraction, but there wasn't one. "I think that's it," she said.

Sonny took the bags to the kitchen, grabbed two beers out of the fridge, and came back to find Davis leaned back on the couch, feet propped up on the coffee table. He twisted the tops off the bottles, handed one to Davis, and plopped down on the couch beside her.

"To you," he said, raising his bottle towards Davis.

She reciprocated, clinking the glass together and took a sip. "Sonny?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you do this?"

He only shrugged.

"Don't do that, not to me, not now. The past month has been miserable; I don't want to leave the way things are. I want you back in my life."

Sonny cleared his throat, "I messed things up with you… with us. The first sign of trouble and all I could do was walk away. You deserve better than that and I am so sorry…"

Davis cut him off, "It's not your fault," she said insistently. "I kept OCS from you and shouldn't have put you in that position. You have every right to be mad at me."

He shook his head, "I'm not mad at you. I get why you're leavin'. Still don't like it, but I get it. You've worked your ass off for this opportunity; you've earned it, and I wanted you to know that I do care about you and you have my support. Always."

Sonny's candidness shouldn't have surprised her, but it did. The distance between them the last month had been hard on her and she was elated that he was opening up to her now, exposing his vulnerability.

"Truth be told; I'm terrified," she admitted.

"Of what? You'll do great," he said, trying to encourage her.

"What if I can't cut it? I could be back here in a week with my tail between my legs…"

Sonny reached over and placed his hand on Davis' knee, giving it a reassuring squeeze, "You got this."

Davis was taken back by his touch. He hadn't yet pulled his hand away, liked she would have expected from a friend, instead he left it there, rubbing a small circle with his thumb. The warmth of his hand was burning her skin through her jeans and reminded Davis of the first time he'd touched her like this; that night he'd shown up to her apartment. That night that changed everything between them. It was so new and yet so familiar at the same time, both of them giving in completely to one another. In that moment, Davis could feel every touch all over again as each one permeated her skin.

Sonny, realizing the awkward pause, quickly pulled his hand away and sat up on the couch, "But...," he started, putting his beer down on the coffee table.

"If you could use a little help," Sonny continued, reaching for the bracelet on his wrist. He unclasped the chain and removed the jewelry from his arm.

Davis jolted out of her daze and sat up to join him, trying to collect her thoughts and focus on what he was now saying, instead of what he'd been doing. Before she realized what was happening, Sonny had already placed the bracelet on her wrist and was fastening it.

"Not that you're gonna need it, but this is kinda my lucky charm."

"Sonny… I can't...," she attempted to protest, but was quickly cut off.

"I want you to have it. Ya know, if-if you want it...," he started to backpedal, thinking he'd over done it.

Davis stared at the bracelet for a moment, running her finger over the shiny surface. She knew that Sonny had worn that bracelet everyday for almost as long as she'd known him and, with all of his phobias, giving up something that he considered lucky, after everything he'd been through, was a big deal for him. Davis didn't really buy into the whole 'good luck charm' thing, like Sonny did, but the thought of being able to have something of his with her while she was gone would mean more to her than he would ever know.

"I do," Davis replied, trying her hardest to fight back the tears.

"Good. It looks better on you anyway." His boyish grin was too difficult to hide.

She leaned over toward Sonny, playfully nudging him with her shoulder. "I've missed you."

"I miss you."

* * *

TBC.

Special thanks to Jabr3317 for the help and encouragement.


	3. Chapter 3

Final chapter. I hope everyone has enjoyed my little Savis obsession during this hiatus. Only five more days until our show returns!

Again, special thanks to Jabr3317 for the assist!

* * *

Davis felt a flutter in her stomach as she heard his words. 'I miss you', he'd said, 'miss', present tense. This realization caught Davis by surprise, she'd assumed that their very short-lived relationship was over and done with the moment Sonny walked out of the locker room. Even tonight, with everything he'd said and done, there was no solid indication that he still had any feelings for her, until now. It wasn't just their friendship Sonny had stayed behind to resolve; he was still missing her, still incomplete without her, all of her. Davis knew she'd be lying to herself if she tried pretending that those feeling weren't there for her, too.

They'd only spent one night together, and under normal circumstances, with anyone else, that would be plenty for Sonny, and occasionally, too, for Davis, but that one night wasn't nearly enough for either of them. That night was a decade's worth of admiration, respect, and love finally, and unexpectedly, overflowing between them, releasing a passion they'd only just realized existed.

Despite the tension the past few weeks, they were here now, both still yearning to quench that thirst once again.

Davis checked her watched, 0100, "Well," she said, standing up in front of him, "we have about five hours before I have to leave."

Sonny looked up at her confused, "We?"

"Yep. We're making up for lost time." She pulled her phone from her back pocket, tapped the screen a few times, then set it down on the coffee table as soft music started playing. Davis held her hand out toward Sonny, "Dance with me."

It was a command more than a question, but she expected it would have the same result, even though Sonny had adamantly claimed once before that he did not dance. If that were true, though, she at least knew him well enough to know that he didn't back down from a challenge, either.

Sonny recognized the tune right away and grinned. Garth Brooks was a personal favorite of his and the song, 'A Friend To Me', was quite fitting for he and Davis. He reached out to grab to her hand and stood to meet her eye-to-eye, meer inches apart.

As their dance began, Sonny kept hold of Davis' hand and drew it close to his chest, then placed his left hand on her hip leaving the small gap between them. Davis had to stifle her laughter at the awkwardness but continued to let him lead. They swayed slowly, matching the pace of the music.

"Me and you

Well we've sure been through

Our share of laughter and regret

Lord knows we've had our bad days

And more than once we've disagreed

But you've always been a friend to me"

By the second verse they both began to relax in each other arms and Sonny pulled her in against him, eliminating their distance and allowing them to fully embrace one another. Davis' body molded to his as if they were made for each other and she rested her head upon his chest, breathing him in. He wanted to say something, anything, but each time he tried the right words were nowhere to be found, so he continued to hold her close, listening to the lyrics and thinking about how much of them was described in the song.

"You've always been

Time and again

The one to take my hand

And show to me it's okay to be

Just the way I am

With no apology"

Moments later the last strums of the melody faded away and they were engulfed in silence. Sonny tightened his grip around Davis, unwilling to let the dance end so soon. She nestled deeper into him and they continued to rock back and forth to their own rhythm.

They stayed this way for a long while, neither wanting to break away first, but Sonny knew that time wasn't on their side anymore. He needed to speak up; to make sure that she knew where he stood as far as their relationship went. If this was going to be their last night together, he intended to do whatever possible to save every moment of it.

Sonny took a deep breath, absorbing every ounce of her possible before speaking, "I should have said 'yes'."

Davis lifted her head from Sonny's chest and leaned back slightly to meet his gaze, instantly missing the warmth of him, "To what?" she questioned.

"You asked if I thought this was worth jeopardizing our careers over. I wanted to say 'yes', but..."

"Sonny..."

"I know," he cut in, the frustration evident in his voice. The career ending ramifications a relationship between an officer and enlisted could have, more so for her now than him, weren't lost on Sonny. "I know there are concerns… about us... so many reasons we should both walk away, but I'm not walking away from you again. On the sub… at the end… the only thing I could think about was you." He paused for moment, unable to gauge her immediate reaction. Speechless, Davis stared deep into Sonny's eyes, urging him to continue, to open up to her. "I want this. Lisa, I want you. I waited too long to tell you and I don't expect you to put your life on hold for me, but, for now, I'm not ready to let you go."

Believing that Sonny still had feelings for her was one thing, but, for Davis, to actually hear him say it out loud, without reservation, was more than she expected from him tonight. This was a version of Sonny Davis had never seen before; the side that he kept locked away, at least, he had for as long as she had known him. For ten years she'd watched him go through one very casual relationship after another, none lasting more than a few days, and never so much as admitting to actually liking any of them. But, here, with Davis, he was all in.

Still slightly overwhelmed with his raw honesty, she began to loosen the grip she had around his neck. Davis ran her hand along his shoulder and down Sonny's arm; the feather light touch sending a surge through him. As she reached his hand, she intertwined her fingers with his, "Then don't let go."

Sonny let out a sigh of relief as a smile crossed his face. He leaned toward Davis, placing his free hand under her chin, guiding her to closer to him, until their lips finally met. It was light, at first, slow and meaningful, as they took their time rediscovering one another. Senses heightened by passion; each scent, touch, and taste were familiar and just as intoxicating as it had been the first time. The kiss deepened with ferocity, both desperately seeking to find what they'd been missing the past few weeks.

Breathless, Sonny and Davis reluctantly slowed their momentum and parted their lips, yet staying impossibly close to each other, they immediately ached for more. Sonny grinned as he watched the blush color rise in Davis' cheeks. She looked up to meet his gaze; a recognizable mixture of longing and sadness in his eyes and she knew he would be seeing the same in hers. He leaned in towards Davis and she nuzzled her nose against his, both absorbing all they could of the other.

Sonny brushed his lips against hers once again, eager to continue this exploration, but Davis bowed her head back, just out of his reach. He watched, questioningly, as she gave a mischievous smile and took a step backwards, separating their bodies. Sonny stared at her intently, observing each move she made in silence. She took another step back. Her fingers still locked with his, Davis gave a light tug, encouraging him to follow.

Releasing the breath he was unaware he was holding, Sonny stepped forward, pursuing Davis towards the bedroom.

0530

Davis slowly untangled herself from the labyrinth of clothes, blankets and limbs to climb out of bed, careful not to wake Sonny. After everything that was said last night, leaving him now would be the hardest thing Davis would ever have to do, but she knew it had to be done. For now, Davis' journey was taking her on a different path, one that wouldn't allow Sonny to be in her life, not the way she wanted, anyway. OCS was something she needed to do, though, to prove to her herself that she could make it; to overcome the sigma of women in the military, as well as the hardships of her own upbringing.

While she dressed and gathered her already packed bags, Davis paused for a moment to watch Sonny sleeping in her bed. She wanted to soak in this image of him, unsure if this was the last time they would be together. She looked down at her wrist, where Sonny had placed his bracelet; she'd been absentmindedly tracing her fingers over it for the past several minutes.

Sonny began to stir and blindly reached out across the bed, expecting to find Davis beside him, but jolted awake as he felt the cold emptiness in her place. He scanned the room and found Davis standing by the door, bags sitting beside her, staring back at him. A twinge of pain of rushed through him as he realized what was happening. Davis was leaving; he hadn't expected her to stay, but it was all too real now. This was her path, one she needed to see through.

"Howdy," he said, trying to lighten the mood.

Davis sniffled and smiled at his cheesy greeting. "Howdy" she replied, nervously. Sonny waking had caught her off guard; she wasn't prepared to say goodbye to him.

"Come here," it was almost a demand from him, but she conceded. As she approached, he took her hand and guided her down beside him, wrapping an arm around her. "I meant what I said last night; I'm here for whatever you need… or want."

She pulled out of his embrace to look him in the eye, "Sonny, I..."

"Me, too," he interjected. Reaching out he cradled Davis' face in his hand and stroked her cheek.

She covered his hand with hers, turning to kiss his palm, then gliding her fingers across his beard softly one last time; she kissed him passionately before standing to leave. As she reached the door and picked up her bags, she looked back to offer him a sad smile.

He knew she had to go, for herself. He knew a part of her was terrified of leaving Bravo, the only real family she had ever known. He knew how much she cared about him. He knew there was a part of her that wanted to stay, to give them a chance.

And he finally knew just how much he loved her.


End file.
